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I purchased the ‘All You Need’ Lasius Hybrid Gear Pack just under a year ago and I am not at all impressed with the quality of these products.
A few months ago my Iridomyrmex colony finally hit a high enough worker population to move them from their test tube into the Hybrid nest and since then I've only had problems.

AC Hybrid Nest:
1. Poor print quality has lead to leaking of the hydration basin due to gaps in the print layers, I had to fix this by covering the bottom of the basin with wax to cover all the tiny holes.
2. This also caused many zits in the connection holes on the side of the formicarium forcing me to clean it up with a craft knife before I was able to use it.
3. The color provided does not match the color shown on the website, it is a very dark brown which makes it difficult to observe my ants in the nest.
4. The hydration system is a pain to get right no matter which medium I've tried (both the included perlite and cotton).
5. Due to the troubles caused by the hydration system I have had mold grow inside the nest.

AC Test Tube Portal:
The lid fits very poorly allowing ants to squeeze between the gap, had multiple escapes from a medium sized species.

AC Outworld:
No problems with this, works very well and the lip at the top really helps with applying a barrier. Will still be happily using this.

Having experience with 3d printing I recognise a lot of these print problems as being caused by a badly calibrated printer.

Because of the very high price(not including the high shipping costs due to being in New Zealand) of these products I was expecting something of a much higher quality and am very disappointed with my purchase.

I purchased the ‘All You Need’ Lasius Hybrid Gear Pack just under a year ago and I am not at all impressed with the quality of these products.
A few months ago my Iridomyrmex colony finally hit a high enough worker population to move them from their test tube into the Hybrid nest and since then I've only had problems.

AC Hybrid Nest:
1. Poor print quality has lead to leaking of the hydration basin due to gaps in the print layers, I had to fix this by covering the bottom of the basin with wax to cover all the tiny holes.
2. This also caused many zits in the connection holes on the side of the formicarium forcing me to clean it up with a craft knife before I was able to use it.
3. The color provided does not match the color shown on the website, it is a very dark brown which makes it difficult to observe my ants in the nest.
4. The hydration system is a pain to get right no matter which medium I've tried (both the included perlite and cotton).
5. Due to the troubles caused by the hydration system I have had mold grow inside the nest.

AC Test Tube Portal:
The lid fits very poorly allowing ants to squeeze between the gap, had multiple escapes from a medium sized species.

AC Outworld:
No problems with this, works very well and the lip at the top really helps with applying a barrier. Will still be happily using this.

Having experience with 3d printing I recognise a lot of these print problems as being caused by a badly calibrated printer.

Because of the very high price(not including the high shipping costs due to being in New Zealand) of these products I was expecting something of a much higher quality and am very disappointed with my purchase.

Hey Jashooa,
Sorry to hear about your poor experience with the Hybrid Nest, but thank you for your honest feedback. As you must know, 3D printing is not a perfect process. The vast majority of our Hybrid bases do not leak. Occasionally for whatever reason, usually a minor under-extrusion problem with a 3D printer, it is not as tight a print as we'd like. Regarding the color, there are two locations that provide our light brown filament. There have been times when both are out of stock. We have had to wait literally 3-5 weeks sometimes to get the light brown filament. During one of these times, we were forced to purchase the closest match available, and it turned out to be this slightly darker brown.

I'm a little surprised that you had trouble with the hydration system. I have had Perlite in Hybrid Nests for over a year without any mold at all and without changing the Perlite. Not sure what would be causing your mold issues, perhaps a species-specific issue, something you are feeding them, or something else. I suspect you would have the same issue with any other formicarium as there is nothing inherently "mold-friendly" with the Hybrid hydration setup. Having said that, I have had mold "inside" a Hybrid nest before when I have fed the ants moist cat food. They would pull it into the nest and it would mold. What are you feeding them?

Please PM me and we can discuss options to make things right between you and AntsCanada.

I've tried many different configurations with the hydration but they either highly prefer nesting in the water test tube or I get too much condensation up against the glass.

I'm guessing the condensation is what has caused the mold as it is also up against the glass and is away from any food they have brought in. They are mostly fed insects such as roaches and mealworms so I don't think it is a problem with what they are fed.

I've tried many different configurations with the hydration but they either highly prefer nesting in the water test tube or I get too much condensation up against the glass.

I'm guessing the condensation is what has caused the mold as it is also up against the glass and is away from any food they have brought in. They are mostly fed insects such as roaches and mealworms so I don't think it is a problem with what they are fed.

I'll send you a PM now.

Out of curiosity did you glue your glass down? I only ask because I have not and I have zero condensation issue in my hybrid nest and I haven't glued mine. I had the same issue with my tray leaking a little and I just spread some glue on the bottom to seal it. I'm very happy with the quality and the customer service with antscanda. I believe that the people truly care about the customers and the ants they take care of and I have no doubt Ooper will do what he can to make sure your experience is enjoyable. I have bought several products from him as well as directly from the company and have felt taken care of every single time. I can understand your frustration but I hope you will give them a chance to make it right before looking down on their products. It sucks to be the 1 in 10,000 that has a problem with your order and I feel for you.

I've tried many different configurations with the hydration but they either highly prefer nesting in the water test tube or I get too much condensation up against the glass.

I'm guessing the condensation is what has caused the mold as it is also up against the glass and is away from any food they have brought in. They are mostly fed insects such as roaches and mealworms so I don't think it is a problem with what they are fed.

I'll send you a PM now.

Out of curiosity did you glue your glass down? I only ask because I have not and I have zero condensation issue in my hybrid nest and I haven't glued mine. I had the same issue with my tray leaking a little and I just spread some glue on the bottom to seal it. I'm very happy with the quality and the customer service with antscanda. I believe that the people truly care about the customers and the ants they take care of and I have no doubt Ooper will do what he can to make sure your experience is enjoyable. I have bought several products from him as well as directly from the company and have felt taken care of every single time. I can understand your frustration but I hope you will give them a chance to make it right before looking down on their products. It sucks to be the 1 in 10,000 that has a problem with your order and I feel for you.

I don't have the glass glued down, just held in place by some blu-tack in the corners or else it would move about, so it isn't sealed on.

It's very weird because the cotton I have in the hydration tray isn't even that wet, just slightly moist. I have a heating cable which prevents the top half from getting condensation.

Yeah, it's just really frustrating because I've had to move my colony out multiple times to try different things, hopefully I haven't caused them too much stress since they are still growing in size.

Is it possible your nest is sitting on an incline to where the water isn't able to fully work it's way up into the cotton?

Nope, it's completely flat.

Strange, I haven't had that issue in mine and I've done several media changes. Maybe you could try wetting all the cotton before putting the nest back on top. That way it's prewetted before putting water in the tray to be absorbed by the cotton. What's the air temperature around your nest? I have a heating cable in mine but I also have a heat lamp with a reptile thermometer right next to the nest to keep the air temperature perfect for my species. They then use the heating cable to get the brood warmer or cooler depending on what they choose moving them closer or farther away. That may also be why I'm having zero condensation issues.

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Everything I have received from AntsCanada has been great. I just received a test tube portal and was impressed with how well it was constructed and fit together. Give them a call, I am sure they will make things right.